The present invention relates generally to the field biocontamination inactivation and destruction, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for treating an object with ozone.
Ozone is a form of oxygen that has three atoms per molecule rather than two atoms as found in molecular oxygen. Ozone (O3) rapidly decomposes into molecular oxygen (O2), as the xe2x80x9cextraxe2x80x9d oxygen atom splits off the ozone molecule. This xe2x80x9cextraxe2x80x9d oxygen atom is known to inactivate bacteria, spores and react with chemical compounds. Consequently, disinfection and oxidation occur. Ozone has been recognized to inactivate many known biological contaminants, chemical contaminants and infectious agents. These infectious agents include, but are not limited to, bacteria, viruses and prions.
Prions are infectious agents that recently have been the subject of significant scientific research. Prions can be defined as small proteinaceous infectious particles which resist inactivation by procedures that modify nucleic acids. Prions have a pleated sheet conformation rather than a helix structure that is normal for prion protein, lack detectable nucleic acid, and do not elicit an immune response. Prions are now believed to be responsible for several transmissible neurodegenerative diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and kuru in humans, scrapie in sheep, and mad-cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)) in cattle. Inactivating prions using heat, radiation, enzymes, and cleaving chemicals appears to have been unsuccessful. It is believed that ozone has the capability to potentially inactivate prions by destruction and/or removal thereof.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for ozone treatment of an object, including, but not limited to surgical instruments.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for treating an object with ozone, comprising: (a) a treatment tank having a sealable inner chamber; (b) at least one reflective surface located within the inner chamber; (c) an oxygen-containing gas within said inner chamber; and (d) a laser for emitting a laser beam of ultraviolet (UV) radiation through the inner chamber, said laser beam reflected by the reflective surface, wherein exposure of the oxygen-containing gas to the UV radiation produces ozone.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for treating an object with ozone, comprising the steps of: (a) placing the object within a sealed chamber containing an oxygen-containing gas; and (b) introducing ultraviolet radiation into the chamber, wherein oxygen of the oxygen-containing gas produces ozone gas.
An advantage of the present invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for treating objects with ozone, wherein a laser is used to produce large quantities of ozone gas within a treatment tank.
Another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for treating objects with ozone that produces sufficient quantities of ozone to effectively inactivate infectious agents, such as prions.
These and other advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken together with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.